Ohio court to hear big online charter school’s funding case

COLUMBUS (AP) — The survival of one of the nation’s largest virtual charter schools is on the line when the Ohio Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday in a case that could have broader impact on accountability for other e-schools.

The Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow challenges how Ohio tallied students’ participation to determine the online school should repay $60 million or more.

The state says ECOT didn’t provide data from students’ online work to justify the school’s full public funding in recent years.

ECOT argues state law calls for calculating charter-school funding based on enrollment, not participation, and that Ohio’s Department of Education effectively changed the criteria without legal authority.

After the state started recouping funding, the e-school of some 12,000 students was abruptly closed last month as it ran out of money.